A severely fragmented sheet of birch-bark from Gandhara was found inscribed with eleven stories of the avadāna type, which means that they center around episodes involving laypeople and monks, but do not have the Buddha as a protagonist. The stories deal with ascetics of other communities, and they discuss the value of luxury or present a ghost as the cause of illness. The first story appears to be a long adaptation of the Aṅgulimāla episode. Of particular interest for the history of Buddhism is the second story concerning the self-immolation of a layman, which constitutes the earliest mention of such an act in an Indian Buddhist context.
目次
The Split Collection The manuscript – its physical features C14 dating The term avadāna Standard collections in comparison Palaeography Copy or autograph? Remarkable contents Monks going for food Self-immolation Magic seals Notable vocabulary a) seriyaputra b) moha vs. mokṣa c) ha and Vedic features Conventions The eleven stories 1. The robber and the ploughman 2. Self-immolation of the antevāsin Bāhulaka 3. On parentsʼ permission to leave home for monkhood 4. On ascetics and women 5. The avadāna of the stolen jewel 6. Avadāna of Naḍa from yonder world 7. Avadāna of the house-bound monk 8. Avadāna of Lobhajaka 9. Avadāna told by Buddhadeva on noisy yavanikās 10. Avadāna told by Upatiṣya on the use of luxury 11. Avadāna with Buddha Udgama The language Verbal morphology Acknowledgement References
